Green Bay — It's known as four-minute offense. In the National Football League, it can separate the men from the boys.

The Green Bay Packers were all man in the late going Sunday afternoon when they ran their four-minute as perfectly as they ran their entire offense in the first half for a 30-24 decision over the dogged San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field.

Having cruised to a 20-point lead with only 11 minutes left, the Packers found their lead had dwindled to six, and a sense of foreboding hung in the air when they began their litmus test of a possession at the 9 with 5 minutes, 50 seconds remaining.

Seven plays, including six rushes from a double tight-end formation, and three kneel-downs later, it was all over. The Packers aren't just a finesse team with a zone-run scheme. This proved they can power up against what had been the NFL's finest run defense.

"Well, that can be people's perception, but that just proves what we can do, you know?" guard Josh Sitton said. "Pounding the rock, man. Good stuff, huh?"

Oh, my, was it ever. Excuse the defense for enjoying the meat-grinding grand finale from its perch on the sideline.

"That was awesome, wasn't it?" said cornerback Charles Woodson. "You need that sometimes, like today. Because defensively we dropped the ball. With five minutes to go we were obviously on our heels defensively."

Improving to 6-4, Green Bay began and ended the day tied for the fifth-best record in the NFC. San Francisco, one of the wild-card contenders, fell to 4-6.

Three times already this season the Packers had been exceptional in four-minute situations: in St. Louis, at home against Detroit and in Cleveland.

The dramatic difference was that the Packer had a commanding lead in each game and the caliber of opponent was far lower.

This time, the Packers were trying to kill the clock in a situation made semi-desperate by second-half failures on both offense and defense. Given how tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Michael Crabtree had been eating up the defense, the last thing coach Mike McCarthy wanted was to give the 49ers' offense another shot.

In an honest moment, McCarthy might have settled for one first down and an effective punt. Two first downs? Highly unlikely. Three first downs? Outrageous.

Greg Manusky, 49ers coach Mike Singletary's defensive coordinator, didn't know what McCarthy, his close friend, would do. Even though the Packers had rushed for 124 yards to that point, would McCarthy actually try to run it late on a unit that led the NFL in yards allowed per carry at 3.3?

The pass-rushing limitations of the 49ers' 3-4 base defense were evident in the Packers' elegant 362-yard first half. But nobody had pushed the 49ers around on the ground all year.

Manusky played a seven-man box on first down, and McCarthy pounded Ryan Grant for 4. On second down, Manusky added strong safety Michael Lewis to the box, and McCarthy ran Grant again for 2.

Now on third and 4, Manusky blitzed a pair of linebackers. Aaron Rodgers, as he had all day, read it beautifully and got the ball out in the right flat to Jermichael Finley, who stretched out against man coverage from Lewis for 5 and the first down.

"I liked the matchup," said Rodgers. "I don't care who they put on (Finley). He was able to get separation."

Even now, Manusky figured he could stuff the run with seven and went back to a two-safety shell. He did, too, when beefy defensive end Isaac Sapoaga and nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin erected a cement wall as Grant cracked into them. But as they reached to catch their quarry, Grant skipped away and was gone down the left side for 21.

"We've beaten him down sometimes because he hasn't broken enough tackles - blah, blah, blah - and I'm the worst one at it," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "But you've got to take your hat off to him on that run. That was blocked for a yard, a yard and a half. Huge play."

Grant, however, had to leave with a stinger. Ahman Green would have been next off the bench, but a late-week groin injury landed him on the inactive list.

So in came Brandon Jackson, the third-down back who had been forgotten on early downs all season.

McCarthy didn't care who the back was. Jackson gained 1 and Singletary called his second timeout.

On that play and the next two, McCarthy also sent out rookie Quinn Johnson, the most physical of his three fullbacks who was drafted for the four-minute. It wasn't John Kuhn or Korey Hall on those last four snaps in the I formation; it was the 255-pound Johnson hammering straight ahead.

This time, Manusky brought up Lewis for an eight-man box, probably figuring Rodgers wouldn't even try running against it on second and 9. Not only did Rodgers stick with McCarthy's run call, Jackson surged off the right side for a shocking gain of 8.

Singletary foolishly challenged the spot on Jackson's run and paid for it with his final timeout. When Johnson shoved Rodgers across on a sneak for 2, it was time for the "victory formation" three times in succession.

"That's what good teams do," said defensive coordinator Dom Capers, a head coach for eight seasons. "They finish things off."

Thus, the Packers finished with 158 yards on the ground, more than the 49ers had allowed in their previous 23 games. Green Bay's total yardage of 484 was the most against San Francisco since Week 11 of 2007.

"It was an opponent that we had a lot of respect for . . . their players, their coaches," said McCarthy. "They're well-coached. I can tell you that first-hand. It's a good team victory."

The Packers built their lead with an exquisite first-half showing in all areas. On offense, they ran screens and hitches, Greg Jennings and Finley kept running free, the running game was remarkable and Rodgers kept beating the blitz with lightning-fast decision-making.

"They were unbelievable," said Woodson, referring to the offense.

Because the 49ers had the ball merely 7 1/2 minutes, Capers' job on defense was easier but no less dominating.

But after the 49ers went shotgun to start the second half and began making plays deep downfield, and when Aaron Kampman and Al Harris suffered season-ending knee injuries, it came down to McCarthy and his zone-run game to settle accounts.

"Usually we're kind of shaky with the run," tight end Donald Lee said. "If we want to go as far as we need to go, we need to be more dominant. I think this game today boosts our confidence knowing we can run the ball."

Remaining games in Green Bay (Dec. 7, Dec. 27), in Chicago (Dec. 13) and in Pittsburgh (Dec. 20) might go to the team best capable of playing blood-and-guts football. The Packers showed Sunday that they very well might be that club.

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